Now is the time, Sam
by Miss Kleola
Summary: Warning: Spoiler What Sam wanted to tell Jack while trapped on an icy planet


Author's note: Okay, everyone, this is my first fanfic so please be gentle. Let me know what you think. It would really encourage me to write more!  
  
*Spoiler* This takes place during "Solitudes" in season one.  
  
Captain Samantha Carter stood outside on a cold, barren planet. She searched frantically for any signs of life. Nothing. All she saw was snow and ice that stretched for miles. Gusts of freezing winds slapped her face. Snowflakes drifting along the winds nestled themselves onto her blonde hair. She explained to Colonel Jack O'Neill, her theories about what happened and now believed it had to be a malfunction of the gate. Daniel and Teal'c were lost, and so were they.  
  
Jack told her they would make it out, somehow there had to be a way or someone at the base would find their location. Sam wanted to believe that, and then she did when they found a DHD buried under the ice. Fear crept through her along with chills after her efforts failed. The gate didn't work. How long could they stay alive? Okay, there was ice that could be heated for water. Problem was, the cold, too cold for them to survive without the necessities needed. All they had were thermo blankets to keep them warm.  
  
Exhausted. Freezing. Helpless. Sam headed back to the cave; back to the hole she chiseled through the ice. And back to a very injured Jack O'Neill who ordered her to go up to the surface for help. Sam hated to tell him the bad news, that all she saw was an ice planet. They were all alone, and if they didn't get help soon, Jack would die. As she slipped through the hole, Sam bit her lips to keep herself from crying. When she first met Jack, she had no idea this would happen. He was an arrogant jerk. No way. Impossible. But...it happened. She fell in love.  
  
Like she was on a sled, Sam sped down into the cave and tumbled not far from Jack. He lay under the blanket. Stiff. For a moment, Sam panicked at the thought he was dead. She scrambled next to him.  
  
"Sir?"  
  
Jack opened his eyes, shivering. He turned his head slightly and gazed into her blue eyes. He whispered, "I'm cold."  
  
Sam slipped under the blankets and snuggled close to him. Her eyes met his. She whispered back, "I know." Sam paused and whispered again, "Sir..."  
  
"Yeah?" Jack said weakly.  
  
A voice uttered in her mind...now is the time, Sam.  
  
She said to Jack, "I wanted to say, it was an honor to serve with you, and...I love you."  
  
Though he was very weak and cold, Jack managed to smile a little. "I love you, too."  
  
Sam couldn't compose herself any longer and cried.  
  
Jack muttered, "I would do it first, but I can't lift my head. Kiss me...that's an order."  
  
Sam, thrilled to obey that order, inched closer to his lips and kissed them gently, then passionately. Her arms snuggled around him. She buried her face against his.  
  
"Sleep, Jack. It's okay. Go to sleep."  
  
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Sam's eyes fluttered. A blur of two faces hovered above her, and when the fog cleared, she was relieved to see Dr. Janet Frasier and Daniel Jackson.  
  
"Sam," Janet said, "Do you know where you are?"  
  
Sam nodded and replied weakly, "Yeah, in the infirmary." Remembering what happened on the planet, Sam's head sprang from the pillow. Her blue eyes widened. "Jack, is he all right?"  
  
"Jack is going to be fine. Relax, Sam."  
  
Sam breathed. Her head sank into the pillow.  
  
Daniel said, "The last time you dialed, the room shook and that's when I figured it out. You couldn't get back because you and Jack were already here, on Earth."  
  
Confused, Sam answered, "On Earth?"  
  
"Yes, Antarctica."  
  
"I thought I was dreaming when I heard helicopters. That's when you rescued us." Sam sighed and closed her eyes. "I thought we were dead."  
  
Janet said, "Thanks to Daniel, the rescue team got there just in time."  
  
Sam opened her eyes. She looked at Daniel, smiling. "Thanks."  
  
Daniel reached for her hand. He squeezed it a little, letting her know how happy he was to see her back, and then he let her hand go.   
  
Janet smiled. "We'll leave you alone so you can rest."  
  
Sam watched them leave. When they were gone, she thought about Jack.  
  
She wondered what he was on his mind.   
  
After all, she told him how she felt, thinking they wouldn't make it.  
  
And he admitted his love for her, even wanting her to kiss him.   
  
Nevertheless, she felt embarrassed, knowing she will see him again.   
  
Still feeling weak, Sam closed her eyes and obeyed the doctor's orders.  
  
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Sam waited until she was feeling better, and then she decided to get it over with. She visited Jack inside the infirmary. It was the first time they've seen each other since the Antarctica incident. They were alone. She stood beside his bed. Jack propped himself against a few pillows, and when he turned to look at her, his face brightened.   
  
Sam said softly, "Sir..."  
  
"Uh--uh...Jack, remember. Okay, we thought we were dying. We made it, but that shouldn't change things."  
  
"What things?" Sam asked, as if she didn't know.  
  
Jack tilted his head toward her. "Say it again."  
  
A sensuous smile played across her lips. "I love you."  
  
Jack grasped her hand, holding it gently. "I love you, too."  
  
The End 


End file.
